Torres del Paine NP: Nature
Nature
Geomorphology
The landscape of the National Park is owed to earth movements which occurred 12 million years ago, and gave birth to its incredible peaks such as el Monte Paine Grande (3.050msnm) Los Cuernos del Paine (2.600, 2.400, 2.200 msnm) Torres del Paine (2250, 2460 and 2500 msnm,) Fortaleza, (2800), Escudo (2700 msnm.) Some of these have with permanent glaciers.
Hydrography
Due to the vicinity of the southern ice sheet, the park has innumerable lakes, lagoons and rivers that owe their formation to the melting of the glaciers of which they are a part. Of the lakes stand out the Sarmiento, Nordenskjold, Pehoe de Grey, Paine and Dickson and there are also many lagoons of various sizes.
The biggest rivers are the Pingo, Paine, Serrano and Grey. The Paine is the most important (which originates in Lake Dickson, extreme north) and borders the massif of the east, crossing various lakes, and finishing by flowing into the Toro lake, in the extreme south of the reserve. On its route, the river plunges down three spectacular waterfalls: Paine, Salto Grande and Salto Chico.
Flora
Inside the park at the Porteria Sarmiento we can find species that have their origin in desert environments, like the mata varrosa, the mata negra, the senecio and the calafate amongst the flowering plants, the estepa and coiron amongst the herbaceous. Now, inside the park, you can find small copses of lengua associated with herbaceous species like pasto ovillo, trebol and some flowering plants of great beauty like the capachitos and orchids which can be found again at the Laguna Azul and the Laguna Amarga.
Fauna
Of the wildlife, it is the guanacos that receive most visitors and they are found in the vicinity of the Porteria Sarmiento. However, it is also possible to see aquatic birds from the viewpoint in the Sede administration, where we see species such as cisne de cuello negro, pimpollo, tagua and huala, amongst others.
Lesser rhea (ñandues) with their young can be observed inside the park, around Laguna Azul and the Sede Adminstrativa, and condors, can be observed close to the Pehoe ranger station. Inside the forest (the Lago Grey trail) we can find catitas, woodpeckers, austral blackbirds, long tailed meadowlarks, great horned owl and cometocinos.
Geomorphology
The landscape of the National Park is owed to earth movements which occurred 12 million years ago, and gave birth to its incredible peaks such as el Monte Paine Grande (3.050msnm) Los Cuernos del Paine (2.600, 2.400, 2.200 msnm) Torres del Paine (2250, 2460 and 2500 msnm,) Fortaleza, (2800), Escudo (2700 msnm.) Some of these have with permanent glaciers.
Hydrography
Due to the vicinity of the southern ice sheet, the park has innumerable lakes, lagoons and rivers that owe their formation to the melting of the glaciers of which they are a part. Of the lakes stand out the Sarmiento, Nordenskjold, Pehoe de Grey, Paine and Dickson and there are also many lagoons of various sizes.
The biggest rivers are the Pingo, Paine, Serrano and Grey. The Paine is the most important (which originates in Lake Dickson, extreme north) and borders the massif of the east, crossing various lakes, and finishing by flowing into the Toro lake, in the extreme south of the reserve. On its route, the river plunges down three spectacular waterfalls: Paine, Salto Grande and Salto Chico.
Flora
Inside the park at the Porteria Sarmiento we can find species that have their origin in desert environments, like the mata varrosa, the mata negra, the senecio and the calafate amongst the flowering plants, the estepa and coiron amongst the herbaceous. Now, inside the park, you can find small copses of lengua associated with herbaceous species like pasto ovillo, trebol and some flowering plants of great beauty like the capachitos and orchids which can be found again at the Laguna Azul and the Laguna Amarga.
Fauna
Of the wildlife, it is the guanacos that receive most visitors and they are found in the vicinity of the Porteria Sarmiento. However, it is also possible to see aquatic birds from the viewpoint in the Sede administration, where we see species such as cisne de cuello negro, pimpollo, tagua and huala, amongst others.
Lesser rhea (ñandues) with their young can be observed inside the park, around Laguna Azul and the Sede Adminstrativa, and condors, can be observed close to the Pehoe ranger station. Inside the forest (the Lago Grey trail) we can find catitas, woodpeckers, austral blackbirds, long tailed meadowlarks, great horned owl and cometocinos.
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National Parks
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